Cushioning composite molded article and a process for production thereof

A process for producing a cushioning composite molded article comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate having a predetermined shape in a first portion of said cavity;
• injecting an expandable material to fill a second portion of said cavity under sufficient pressure so as to maintain said material in a non-expanded state, said second portion comprising the remainder of said cavity;
• maintaining an inner surface of said mold against a first portion of said expandable material for a predetermined time interval so as to form a skin layer from said expandable material;
• and
• moving said mold members away from each other so as to allow a second portion of said expandable material to expand and form a cushioning material;
• wherein
• said expandable material is a compound comprising at least one saturated-type styrene-based elastomer and a polyolefin, said compound having an A-hardness according to JIS greater than 50 but not greater than 100, a melt viscosity between 500 and 5,000 at a shear rate of 10/sec.

A process for producing a cushioning composite molded article comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate having a predetermined shape in a first portion of said cavity;
• injecting an expandable material to fill a second portion of said cavity under sufficient pressure so as to maintain said material in a non-expanded state, said second portion comprising the remainder of said cavity;
• maintaining an inner surface of said mold against a first portion of said expandable material for a predetermined time interval so as to form a skin layer from said expandable material;
• and
• moving said mold members away from each other so as to allow a second portion of said expandable material to expand and form a cushioning material;
• wherein
• said expandable material comprises a saturated-type styrene-based elastomer having an average molecular weight between 30,000 and 70,000 as measured by a GPC method, and an A-hardness according to JIS K6301 greater than 50 but not greater than 100.

A process for producing a cushioning composite molded article comprising the steps of:

• providing a mold, said mold comprising first and second mold members, said mold members defining a first cavity therebetween;
• injecting a resin into said first cavity to form a substrate;
• moving said mold members away from each other to create a second cavity next to said substrate;
• injecting an expandable material to fill said second cavity under sufficient pressure so as to maintain said material in a non-expanded state;
• maintaining an inner surface of said mold against a first portion of said expandable material for a predetermined time interval so as to form a skin layer;
• and
• further moving said mold members away from each other so as to allow a second portion of said expandable material to expand and form a cushioning material.